Following aerial and missile attacks by Pakistani military forces, thousands of families in Kunar province, near the hypothetical Durand Line, have been forced to leave their homes.
Local residents say that over the past several days, Pakistani military forces have targeted residential areas, compelling civilians to flee.
Abdul Shakoor, a resident of Kunar, said: “They fire tanks, artillery, and mortar shells at civilians, causing casualties. Some have been wounded and others killed. Many people have been deprived of their livelihoods. The Pakistani government is acting very oppressively.”
Nabiullah, another resident, said: “The Pakistani government is unable to confront Afghan forces directly and therefore targets civilian homes and marketplaces.”
Sardar Wali, who lives in Sarkano district of Kunar province near the hypothetical Durand Line, said Pakistani forces launched missile attacks on his home last night, destroying several rooms.
He added that although he and his family were not physically harmed, his children spent the entire night in fear and sleeplessness due to sporadic shelling, and he has since moved his family to a safer area.
Sardar Wali said: “When the shell struck, the children and all members of my family were terrified. We ran toward the door and did not know who had left and who had remained who was alive and who might have been killed. Anyone who had gone out the door was unaccounted for until morning. Some went to relatives’ houses, others elsewhere. When I returned home in the morning, thank God there were no casualties, but two rooms had been destroyed.”
Meanwhile, local officials in Kunar say that in recent days, dozens of civilians, including women and children have been killed and injured as a result of Pakistani military air and missile attacks, and thousands of families have fled to other areas to protect their lives.
Ziaur Rahman Spinghar, Head of Information at the Kunar Department of Information and Culture, said: “Twenty-four of our innocent compatriots have been killed and more than 40 others injured. Thousands of families have been displaced, and numerous civilian facilities have been either completely destroyed or severely damaged, including mosques, clinics, schools, and highways.”
According to local officials, after failing in direct confrontations with the forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Pakistani troops targeted civilian homes, while the Islamic Emirate’s forces carried out retaliatory strikes, inflicting heavy human and material losses on the opposing side.
